The invention relates to the field of information management systems, and more particularly, to an information management system for use with all types of currency-receiving machines in which money is deposited by a consumer and goods or services are dispensed. For example, vending and bulk vending machines, video game machines, pool tables, air hockey tables, laundry mat machines, stamp dispensing machines, child ride on machines, and any and all other types of such machines (such machines and other currency-receiving machines are hereinafter collectively referred to in this specification and the claims hereof as “vending devices”).
Vending devices as described above have been known in the art for many years. Various ways for counting the vends from such vending devices have been pursued during these years as it has always been necessary to monitor the cash received into such devices so as to minimize theft from employees employed to service and collect the money from the devices; i.e., the field engineers. Some examples of such counting mechanisms for such vending devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,290,049; 6,062,370; 6,050,385; 5,950,794; and 5,909,795. The disclosures of all of these patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, as they are to be used herein as enabling embodiments of the data compilation device of this application. Examples of other counting mechanisms for such vending devices can also be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,201,396; 4,392,564; 4,376,479; 4,369,442; 4,216,461; 4,143,749; and 3,783,986.
Accordingly, while up to now it has been possible to count vends in such vending devices and thereby monitor the collection efforts of a vending operator's field engineers, no automated system exists to easily collect, manipulate and selectively review this important information. Such information being important to the stores/locations where the vending devices are located and where the consumers interact with the devices, the vending device operators who are responsible for maintaining the vending devices in both the mechanical and product availability capacity, as well as in a money collection capacity, the original equipment manufacturers (hereinafter in the speciation and the claims abbreviated as “OEM”) who are the manufacturers of the vending devices and are interested in which devices are attracting the most business, the mechanical integrity and “up-time” of the OEM's particular vending devices, as well as what products/services are most sought after by the consuming public so that changes can be made to types of products/services being dispensed at particular locations, and the supplier of the products dispensed from such vending devices, who are interested, as the vending device operators are interested, in the types of products that are selling best and which products are doing best in which locations. It is thus seen that there are innumerable pieces of information which the seemingly innocuous vending devices described hereinabove can provide to various users of the information in order for these users to better manage the traffic to and from the devices so as to maximize the devices' up-time and revenue generation.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an information management system for such vending devices that is compact, has transportable components that are small, powerful and easily manipulated and used, communicable with other devices, such as a central computer server for compiling and manipulating the information from the vending devices, and which makes this multitude of information accessible, viewable and able to be manipulated by various groups of individuals having interests in the information. It would also be desirable to permit easy connection of users to the system, as by wireless connection or a quick connect/disconnect provision.